Topics for Research1. Addressing struggling readers, on grade level readers, and above grade level readers all at the same time.2. Teaching a student with Aspergerís or a student with Autism3. How to best serve ELL students in the classroomI am interested in the differentiated instruction topic because in the little experience I have had as a teacher I constantly struggled with how to best serve my students who were on different levels academically. Students would constantly be in and out of the classroom to meet their IEP needs and falling behind on instructional assignments. Students who were in AIG were constantly bored or finished with an assignment by the time I finished handing it out and answering questions. Students who are on grade level had issues staying focused and actually completing the assignment that was tailored to be on their academic level. I believe this is a struggle for the majority of teachers because out of everyone I asked, no one had a great solution.I am also interested in coming up with ways to best serve those students who have Aspergerís or are on the Autism spectrum. How do address their needs without singling them out? How do you explain to the rest of the class itís okay for this student to behave in a certain manner, but itís not okay for them to behave in that same manner. I believe this goes along with ELL students as well. How can I best serve them without making them feel singled out, but also meet their individual needs?

1) Write two one-paragraph descriptions of two topics (in your classroom, teaching, student learning) that raise questions for you. Just describe them. 2) After others have added their descriptions,... more

I am a kindergarten teacher. My students seem pretty good so far, but I have thought about classroom management. How to get them to follow directions and learn what they are supposed to without... more

The first topic that raises questions for me is comprehension. Comprehension is something that students must have when reading in order to gain the information from what they are reading. Not only is ... more

Although I have not had a classroom of my own yet, I do have a few worries and concerns when it comes to teaching. One of these concerns is vocabulary. During my internship in Block 2 the teacher... more

Since you haven't started teaching yet, I would highly recommend reading "Bringing Words to Life:Robust Vocabulary Instruction". They discuss the three tiers of words and how to decided which ones to ... more

Thank you so much, you gave me some great tips! I will definitely have to buy "Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction", that seems like such a great research. When I was in a 2nd/3rd... more

I enjoyed reading your input regarding small group instruction. This year I am thinking I will end up doing small group within the "small group" pull out time. I like your suggestions of activities... more

I'll send some of them to you tonight. But it looks like you are getting a lot accomplished so far with your groups. We start assessing our students this week so I'll be able to see who really needs... more

I am also planning to put more of an emphasis on fluency this year! My 2nd grade team has discussed having the students do repeated readings with each other as well, Lauren. We saw much excitement... more

That is great! I shared repeated readings with another EC teacher and she is teaching her 5th graders how to work in partners to complete repeated readings. I agree with you that it is definitely an... more

Laura, I am very interested in using repeated readings in an effort to increase fluency. I saw what a difference it made this summer in the clinic and look forward to trying it with my students. I... more

Effective Small Group Instruction for Struggling Readers One of my current literacy interests lies in effective beginning reading instruction, specifically with struggling readers. In my few years of ... more

Ashely, I have the same questions as you do within a workshop setting. At the middle school level you often have students who haven't received services but now qualify or students that have been... more

I am also interested in small group instruction. During my Block 2 internship my teacher used small group instruction for reading and spelling, and it was awesome! They did so well on their own and I ... more

As someone who loves to read, I share your enthusiasm for wanting to make sure that students maintain a love for reading. It definitely seems that the passion decreases once students are reading to... more

One of the simplest and most extraordinary things I've heard in grad school is that in order to get kids to read better, we must let them read more. This may have been a quote from Dr. Morris (I... more

That's a great point about letting kids read instead of listening to their teacher talk about reading. I am so bad about going on about something for so long, that when it comes time to actually do... more

It sounds like many of us are concerned with how to best differentiate our instruction. Each of our classrooms come with such a wide variety of learners, whether we are in K or 7th grade. Its a... more

Differentiation is an issue in kindergarten. We have some children that come in knowing all their letters while other children come in and don't know the difference between letters and numbers and... more

I could not have said it better myself! Sometimes I think we are doing too much to differentiate instruction. Students are experiencing all sorts of interventions with 10% effort, rather than say 2... more

Tavia, I agree that finding rigorous yet do-able independent work is a challenge. I think this year in order to differentiate and meet all my students' needs within small group time, there is going... more

Tavia, I also have the same questions about word study with my first graders. My plan is to introduce a word study concept in small group and then incorporate more word study activities into work... more

Small group reading - finding what works Finding accurate instructional levels and using instructional level text Ways to build word recognition for students with reading disabilities Effectiveness... more

The more and more I interact with you language specialists, the more I'm realizing that my concerns and interests in helping my music students become better readers are one in the same with many of... more

You are so right about the correlation between music and reading! Our music teacher at our school is very good to inform us of who in her class is having trouble with certain lessons and it always... more

In my classroom, I am watching many of my first graders struggle with books that should be appropriate for their age and development. They are still sounding out sight words, reading very slowly and... more

It is interesting (and sometimes a little humorous) to see the sounding out, and slow reading process in music. The hurdles you see in fluency of your students are the same problems I notice in music ... more

I do worry about fluency but not as much as I do vocabulary. We teach vocabulary, send home vocabulary, use it in centers, and discuss it in small groups. It seems like it will never come for some of ... more

In my kindergarten classroom I have multiple student who have trouble with focusing and staying on task. I know they have a short attention span, and they are not very independent. I would like to... more

Hi Tracy! I definitely understand those worries! I have a difficult time as well focusing my students in third grade. I worked with a third grade class last year on being more independent. At the... more

ADHD seems to be a growing diagnosis amongst all of our students. Our school sees this in our students often and it has become a new interest of mine. There is still big debate of whether all the... more

Increases in ADHD diagnoses are definitely a concern of mine as well! I especially can relate to what you said about a small group of students affecting the course of an entire classroom. It's hard... more

It seems that Stacy, Susan, and I all have the same thoughts and struggles with vocabulary instruction. What is the best way to help our students acquire new vocabulary and then apply vocabulary... more

Vocabulary seems to be a big trend among the class. I think that is the area that teachers still feel like we haven't mastered yet. Maybe if some of us choose that as a research question, the whole... more

There are so many schools of thought and research out there about what is supposed to work for students. It can be overwhelming to decide how it should be done, and to come up with a way to assess... more

Differentiation In an EC classroom, differentiation is the basis for all instruction. Every single student will need specialized instruction at some point. Because there are not enough hours in the... more

I think what you are saying is a huge struggle. For the past two years I taught the low math students because we ability grouped in 4th grade. Last year 11 out of 15 students were E.C. The E.C.... more

I share your concerns about the EC classroom and extend those same concerns to my non-EC classroom. I have several students who do not qualify for EC services as first graders but will probably... more

Differentiation is a constant struggle. It is difficult to plan and try to meet the needs of all your students. I think some teachers think that EC teachers don't struggle as much with this. I can... more

List of topics: 1. Effective guided reading group instruction 2. Writing skills 3. Teaching the English language to ESL or ELL students 4. Effectively teaching sight words 5. How to best teach a... more

I teach Letterland for phonics too and my students love it. Daily 5 is starting at my school and we are learning how to use it with our students. I hope it does help my students. I don't want to... more

I am interested in the Daily 5 also. I struggle with wanting to provide enough structure in my workshop time, but I also want my students to learn to manage their time independently. I'm interested... more

I also teach kindergarten and find it very difficult to get them where they need to be at the end of the year with thier wriritng. Just like you said these students come to you with little to no... more

I think writing is a thought about question throughout the grade levels. Even at the middle school level it is a struggle to balance writing expectations with reading (especially when only reading is ... more

It looks as though our concerns about kindergarten readiness and learning are similar. I've also worked in schools where Letterland and Daily 5 are used in conjunction. I've had the same concerns... more

We, as a grade level, have been talking about read to self in Daily 5. We said they can't read and will probably roll all over the floor. So, now I know unless I can figure out a better way to use... more

I have experienced the exact things about read to self that you have discussed, in my first grade class. I have added things like read the pictures, retell the story, and listen to reading to this... more

Exactly! How is a student who can't read supposed to 'read to self' for 20 minutes? Each student has a book box that they can choose to read from that has little paper books that have nothing but... more

I had a similar thought about how to address the struggling readers in my classroom, without holding anyone back or making the above grade level students "bored." How do you address all the students... more

Diagnosing reading struggles has been a constant problem in my 7th grade ELA (4 sections/1 Inclusion) classroom over the past few years. As students enter my room many are 3-5 years below grade level ... more

Ideas are running through my brain as I think about middle schoolers and vocabulary. I think just the term "vocabulary" made me want to vomit when I was in 7th grade (and I was a good student who... more

Yes Emily I totally agree! And I loved your comment to Susan as well. It would be really neat to get the kids into a game like those you mentioned. It would take some thought because the group I have ... more

I am not currently teaching in a classroom because I am a full time grad student. I will use last years teaching experience as a reading specialist working with k-5th grade students for my research.... more

Jessice- that prior experience before school is so important! Its not even preschool that is needed (though these students are usually better prepared) but it's also that literacy experience at home. ... more

I am also interested in ELL students and how to best serve them. The ELL students I have worked with all work very hard and participate and do their homework, but they are still unable to keep up... more

I totally agree. It is heartbreaking to watch these sweet kids slipping through the cracks. I had a year of hopeful moments...pairing a new ELL kinder boy with a fifth grade girl ELL for mentoring... more

Reading Workshop: focused on a framework for students to have more hands-on literacy practice. This year, my classes are trying a workshop approach to reading practice. I learned about this approach... more

Stacy, I am so excited for your reading workshop endeavors! How exciting! I also think it is wonderful that you were able to get team members on board with you! I am looking at trying to do something ... more

Stacy, I like your topic of reading workshops as well as the vocab. I think the ultimate goal I was thinking when talking about the diagnostic were similar topics we talked about during our clinical... more

1) One area that has always being concerning to me is vocabulary. We can teach students to decode and use comprehension strategies as they read, but if they donít know what words mean they are going... more

I have not started teaching yet, but building my students vocabulary is a major concern for me as well. I have been exposed to great ways of teaching new words, but am still wanting to find better... more

One of the best resources I have read and used for teaching vocabulary instruction is Word Nerds. Thanks Susan for sharing this book. I would be interested to know if this is something you continue... more

Melissa, I really did love certain aspects of using the Word Nerds layout but it took a lot class time to introduce the words. So I believe I will cut that out. Since I have moved to 3rd grade, I... more

Melissa and Susan, I have used text talks every year and plan to continue using them with my first graders. I have found that introducing vocabulary as it appears in context is effective and gives my ... more

I am excited that I will be able to use them in third grade this year. I think I read somewhere that they are more a K-3 strategy so I never used them with my 4th graders. I plan on using them as a... more

I am right there with you Susan. I know exactly the stresses you are feeling about teaching 3rd grade. With last year being the first year of Read to Achieve, we were all a little clueless about what ... more

That sounds like a great idea to me. It will be nice to see things from both perspectives. As I said in another post, I love the "college talk". So far I've just been getting students interesting in... more